Birdwatching
Flights of Fancy
Meet the many birds that call Central Park home—at least part time.
As a child, Ken Michaels, a lawyer and amateur photographer used to enjoy birdwatching in Central Park with his dad. So when Covid struck, he struck back, co-opting his wife Lenore to traipse around the Loch, the Meer, and other avian sanctuaries with him. In no time, the critters—the smaller ones, especially—would fly right into Lenore hands. That’s when the couple officially joined the ranks of the park’s “Crazy Bird People,” Lenore laughs. Here, some highlights of the past two years—with details of where to find the birds yourselves.
The Pretties
Cardinals, according to Ken Michaels are "year round New Yorkers." He spotted this little guy in the Loch in January 2021.
This Blue Jay, eating a little sap, was spotted in the winter of 2021 from one of the turn outs of the Loch.
At the beginning of Covid, titmice were ubiquitous. For some reason, they're not around this year and no one knows why. "Maybe they decided to winter elsewhere," Michael's surmises.
The Black-capped Chickadee was also super common at the beginning of Covid, and like the titmice, are not around this year.
Predators
The Great Blue Heron, which remained perfectly still in the hopes capturing dinner, was spotted in winter of 2021, on the lake of the Harlem Meer at the Northeast corner of Central Park.
A Red-Tailed Hawk, perched along the Reservoir, in January 2021.
The large-beaked Great Egret was seen in May of 2021 not far from the park's Westside entrance at 100th St.
Surprises
These Northern Shoveler ducks were doing a dance, notes Michael, "because it causes the water to eddy and brings food to the surface." Seen along the Reservoir in winter of 2021.
The celebrity bird, "Barry the Barred Owl," was spotted in the summer of 2021 in the North Woods, not long before he was tragically killed by a Parks Dep't truck. "It flew to this perch, which was unusual to see in daytime," notes Michaels, "to escape a bunch of crows that were pestering him."
Michaels was enamored of the wood duck's iridescent coloration. Spotted in January at the Meer, near 110th Street and Fifth Avenue.
Tweet tweet: For more on New Yorkers’ new birding trend, see Central Park Has Gone Bird-Zerk.
